What Does a CT Scan Tell You About Your Health

It’s reversible and is likely due to a high fat diet (as someone who had fatty liver in her 20s and reversed it very quickly). Your lifespan will be unaffected provided you improve your lifestyle- if you think your lifestyle is good the answer is clearly not because your liver can’t cope with the fat intake.

Hepatic steatosis, by itself, is an early, reversible finding associated with metabolic syndrome. It isn't something you need to be panicked about, but it does make lifestyle changes like regular exercise and pursuing a healthy diet more important.

It also means that at your next regular checkup with a PCP that you should get an a1c check and lipid panel, as you might have a lower threshold than someone without hepatic steatosis to pursue lipid-lowering therapy or tighter glucose control.

I had a CT scan for something else and the report stated that I have an inguinal hernia. My PCP asked what do I want to do about and I said I made the appointment with you . Without a physical examination they recommend I have surgery.

I did a lot of research and got conflicting information so I ended up making an appointment with a surgeon that specializes in laparoscopic surgery, aka minimally invasive surgery. The surgeon did a thorough physical examination and concluded I had a small inguinal hernia. They provided me with a bunch of statistics on the potential outcomes of surgery and non surgery. When I asked what they recommended, they said they don’t provide recommendations, only statistics.

I don’t see any bulges or feel any pain, but the surgeon did say it won’t go away by itself and it could progress into an emergency situation.

I love getting old

27F 270lbs 5'4".

Went to the ER today for bad left abdominal pain. Here was my CT results of my abdomen.

INDICATION: Flank pain, kidney stone suspected, (L): (L)Flank pain, kidney stone suspected

COMPARISON: CT abdomen and pelvis 1/26/2020, pelvic ultrasound 11/11/2020

TECHNIQUE: CT of the abdomen and pelvis was performed without the use of IV contrast. This examination was performed with automated exposure control to minimize patient radiation exposure.

FINDINGS:

Lower chest: Unremarkable.

Liver: Steatosis.

Biliary: No bile duct dilation. Gallbladder is unremarkable.

Spleen: No mass. No splenomegaly.

Pancreas: No duct dilation.

Adrenals: No mass.

Kidneys/ureters: No calculus or hydronephrosis. No hydroureter.

Gastrointestinal tract: No bowel dilation to suggest obstruction. No bowel wall thickening. Appendix is normal.

Lymph nodes: No lymphadenopathy.

Mesentery, peritoneum: No ascites.

Retroperitoneum: No mass.

Vasculature: Normal for noncontrast exam.

Pelvis: No stones in the bladder lumen.

Bones: No aggressive appearing osteolytic or blastic lesions.

IMPRESSION:

1. No evidence of an acute intra-abdominal process. Specifically, no renal stones or hydronephrosis.

2. Hepatic steatosis.

I am not a drinker. Is hepatic steatosis serious? Is it reversible? Or is my life going to be shortened? I've already started making lifestyle changes a few months ago.

I know this has been asked here before but I couldn’t find the answer I’m looking for. I have to go in for a chest and abdominal CT. In case this context matters they’re investigating for possible lymphoma. I know about the dye and to expect to feel warm and kind of weird from it. But I still have questions and want to know more what to expect if I can…

• will I have to undress for this? I hate the feeling of medical gowns, they make me feel so small.

• for what they’re investigating, am I likely to need to drink stuff or just get injected with dye?

• how long will the whole thing take? (The appointment, not the results)

• I assume the answer to this is no, but can I have headphones during the scan?

• will the tech know why I’m having this scan? I’m so fucking scared bc I’ve been so sick for six months, and my doctor’s face when I mentioned my symptoms was like oh shit. This shit is serious. So I’m kind of scared I might cry during the scan. Not because of the scan, but because I’m scared of the results.

This is a very silly article... Because doctors know this and already consider it. The don't order imaging "just because." When they do it's because there is a much bigger and more emergent risk that needs to be ruled out.

Not me, but a close friend of mine. I forget what she needed the initial CT scan for--something gastrointestinal, I think. The doctor called her and told her she a mass the size of a lemon in her right lung. She had it biopsied and it was a malignant tumor from a rare form of endocrine cancer. She just had half of her lung removed. She had no symptoms indicating anything was wrong so that scan likely saved her life.

Hello! First of all — I am so so sorry that you are going through this. Medical shit is scary AF, and it seriously strong to confront these issues and get the testing. My fingers and toes are crossed for you.

I have had pelvic and abdominal CT scans before, and I did not have to undress. I would wear clothes without buttons or zippers or other metal, and you should be good to go. You usually don’t even have to take off your shoes! For the dye question — when my pelvic CT was done, they wanted dye used. My doc basically just said that it makes seeing everything clearer and easier. I don’t know that you could have headphones during the scan (CTs are SUPER FAST, less than five minutes in my experience), but maybe you could bring a book, if that would help? I’m just not sure of the headphones with the magnets, y’know?

For the last question, I believe the radiology tech will see the diagnosis coding/reasoning behind the scan. YOU ARE SO STRONG. You are allowed to cry. I have cried in one million doctors’ offices — if can be so hard to be strong when shit feels like it’s all falling down around you. Not sure if this helps, but this should help you get an answer and help you get on the right treatment path, whatever that is.

Good luck, OP. You can do this.

I'm 76

I've had CT scans from time to time since the 1990s. For an assortment of reasons.

The 30 mSv you mention is indeed higher than normal, average exposure. In fact it is high as compared to the average CT scan. Which is normally 7 - 15 mSv.

The thing is, while a 30 mSv exposure can increase the chances of a cancer. It is such a small increase in chances, that there are literally dozens of other things in your life that are far more likely to do that.

The leading causes of cancer in the US, in order, are smoking, excess body weight, alcohol, ultra-violet radiation from the sun, poor diet, certain infectious diseases, and physical inactivity.

Environmental factors of significant concern are radon (which occurs naturally), arsenic (contained in some water supplies and many foods), asbestos, lead, radiation from natural sources other than radon, and benzene (automobile exhausts and industrial emissions).

The overall concern about radiation from getting a CT scan, falls rather far down on the list of things to be concerned about. Especially as that is a short term exposure which does not occur often in a lifetime, and your medical providers keep track of such things.

And as a routine, doctors consider the risk to you when thinking of ordering a CT scan. In their considered and educated opinion, which is riskier? The CT, or not discovering something the CT may turn up that the doctor thinks to be a possibility.

The thing is that there are so many things in our environment, even just considering natural things, that it is pretty much a given fact that if you live long enough, you will get a cancer .. almost guaranteed, no matter what you do.

That is not to say you shouldn't avoid the obvious, most serious causes which are avoidable. But there are a lot of those you should be more concerned with than a CT scan.

Some reading ...

They are a lot better on claustrophobic people now since it's just a donut-like ring that goes back and forth over the area. It used to be like being inserted head first into a dryer and it was very loud! My claustrophobic husband had to take anxiety medicine before getting them, but it didn't bother me

I like how I can just lay there and this thing will give detailed pictures to my doctor and his AI assistant. It's a lot better than the guesswork that went into diagnostics back in the old days.

The ct scan guy is usually different from doctor. And they don't really tell you right away. You can call them and ask

I've had a lot of these. It will be okay! It's actually very quick and easy.

When you check in, they will take you to a private changing room with a locker where you can leave your stuff. The rules for what you can wear seem to vary from one place to another. I've had ones where I could stay in my regular clothing as long as there was no metal from my neck to my knee, and other ones where they wanted me to put on a gown.

If you wear something like sweatpants and a tshirt, you're more likely to just be able to stay in your clothes. I've had scans where I just took off my bra, put my tshirt back on, and scootched my jeans down to my knees under a blanket on the table to get the zip out of the way.

If you have body piercings take them out at home first to save messing around in the changing room.

Then you go in, and lie down on a narrow bench that slides in and out of a sort of arch or donut. They will put a pillow under your head and another one under your knees, and you can get a warm blanket if it feels comforting to you (the room can be cold sometimes).

If you're getting injected with contrast, they will poke you in the arm and put in a line to slowly send it through at the right time. Then you'll be asked to position your arms above your head and they'll help you get comfy in that position.

The tech will explain how it works, then leave the room to operate the machine. You'll go in and out a few times, and a button/voice on the machine will tell you to breathe normally, or breathe in and hold your breath. The breath holding isn't more than a normal person can easily do.

After a few minutes of that, the tech will tell you they're about to add the contrast. You feel it as it comes through, as a warm sensation, especially in your genitals and it'll feel a bit like you're wetting your pants. YOU'RE NOT. The warm feeling goes away within a few seconds. I find it helps to just be interested in the unusual sensation and follow how it moves through your body then goes away.

While this feeling is happening, you repeat the sliding in and out, breathe in, hold your breath, breathe normally sequence.

You always have a simple task to do, with following the breathing instructions, and this makes the time go quickly. You won't do anything to fuck up. If you accidentally stop holding your breath and it affects anything, they'll just do that sequence again. You won't be able to wear headphones because you need to listen to the instructions.

Very occasionally, towards the end, the contrast makes me nauseous for about 20-30 seconds as the scan ends. This is very much like the fake peeing sensation and I just lie still and hang in there and it goes away quickly.

The tech may or may not know why you're getting scanned, their job is only to get a clear scan and they aren't going to interpret anything they see or be able to tell you anything about it afterwards. They're just taking pictures and these will then be passed along to an expert in whatever you might have.

For computed tomography scans, there are not magnets involved. The issue with metal however is that it creates streak artifact that can make it difficult to interpret images. That being said, they may have you change into a gown just to get around any potential metal that may be in your clothes (belts, bras, zippers, buttons, glitter).

The use of intravenous contrast is used to get better definition of the tissues and also see what tissues enhance (or increase in attenuation due to uptake of contrast). It can help us tell something that's just a cyst apart from an enhancing mass.

Sometimes oral contrast is used to help better see the bowel, depending on indication for the scan. For scans such as looking for intraabdominal malignancy, they may have you drink contrast or water, or nothing at all.

The length of time for your appointment depends on if your study requires an IV (for contrast) or if it requires you to drink contrast beforehand (sometimes this takes longer, as it needs time to travel through the bowel). The scan themselves are very fast, much faster than an MR, and usually setting up is what takes the longest.

Earplugs usually are not an issue, and the tech may play music if you ask. Electronic devices can cause interference with the machines, so I'd advise against bringing them in. Another user mentioned a book - I would advise against bringing anything into the machine that is not your clothing, as 1) the scans are fast and 2) movement creates artifact and can complicate the images that come across (making it harder for the radiologist to read through the artifact)

The technician should see an order for the exam, which your doctor usually writes what they're looking for. Examples can be "patient in car accident, looking for rib fractures" to "suspect malignancy".

It sounds like you're having a rough time, and it's okay to be scared, especially when you haven't gone through this before! It's okay to cry if you need to. Hopefully this has helped with some of your questions.

37M, I have been dealing for 2+ years with lower and center abdominal pain, a sensation of being bloated, gases, lose stools, weird intestinal sounds, etc. Every time I press the pelvic region below the belly button it hurts, same if I do that above the belly button. I get tired easily and feel muscle pain while lifting weight.

Last year I discovered I have hypertension, has been treated and now it's in normal range. I've had a gastroscopy that found helicobacter and was as treated recently. Had ultrasounds and came back normal.

Still all the symptoms are there, I'm not feeling as I should be and now the doctor ordered a CT scan, and after reading Users and people's messages about what happened after their scans didn't help. Now I'm getting scared of what they can find, I'm not young anymore and could be something serious, as I did many tests and nothing showed up, blood tests are normal, and this and a colonoscopy are the only things left.

Do you have any experience with CT scans and similar symptoms?

Thanks.

I have no diagnosis, just a lot of symptoms. I had a lower half ct scan last year, and it took about week, and I had diverticulosis and a larger than normal for my age uterus. It was nothing other than fibrous tumors, but I had to get it checked. This ct scan is head and neck. I don’t know if they’ll find anything, but if there’s anything, will they let me know right away? And will they be able to see blood clots or whatever could be going on in there?

Edit-I am aware that the tech is not the same person who receives the images initially and reviews them, as I am aware that MY doctor will receive that information and makes a decision on how and when they tell me. I just wanted to know if there is a tumor, will they push disseminating that information to me. Because I don’t really want to be rushed into the operating room because they found a tumor, but I also don’t want to be waiting any longer to find out what’s going on. I’m just nervous.

I have those symptoms among others. I have had about a dozen ct scans.

Are you constipated? This might be a motility issue, and can include your pelvic floor.

Hey I had the same symptoms and I got diagnosed with celiac😅. I have other illnesses but atleast for this I had a test and endoscopy to prove it!

I have intestinal sounds and pain. Had a CT scan and ultrasound and they only found a large stool, a mildly hyper inflated lung, benign lumps and bubbles.

Had another throat and body CT scan today. I would love a diagnosis of cancer or anything.

If you get a diagnosis, they can put you on a treatment plan. Surely, it’s scarier to have no diagnosis and ongoing issues?

I’m struggling with health anxiety about getting “C” due to the radiation exposure from some CT scans (30 mSv) and could use some perspective from people who have "been there."🙏🏽 (50F).

Edit: Thank you everyone for your replies and reassurance🌻-much appreciated!

Why ct scan look so different from one patient to another ?

for exemple, 2 patient without any liver pathology will have very different liver shape, one will have his liver reaching far to the left side and the other will have his liver reaching the back

head and thorax imaging are soooo soo easy and clear compared to the abdomen

Abdomen ct is just a nightmerish mess, every official and non-official books and video failed to explain clearly what is going on

Doctor doesn't usually 'read' a scan, instead a radiologist looks at the pictures and writes a report that the doctor works off of.

The delay in the radiologist report getting to doctor is the reason for the delay.